Take serious note of Ramdev's proposed fast: Gadkari to PM

BJP president Nitin Gadkari on tuesday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take a serious note of Baba Ramdev's proposed fast-unto-death for bringing Indian black money stashed abroad and immediately putting in place an effective mechanism to get back the ill-gotten wealth.

In an open letter to the Prime Minister, Gadkari said that bringing back Indian black money kept in tax havens abroad was on the agenda of both the Congress and BJP-led alliances during the 2009 general elections.

"I would like to draw attention to your promise of bringing back black money in 100 days after assuming office... It pains me to point out that the inaction of the UPA for the last seven years on the black money front has led to popular resentment among the masses," Gadkari said.

Ramdev, whom Gadkari calls the "rock star of Yoga" in his letter, will go on a fast-unto-death from June 4.

"BJP strongly feels that the government should initiate immediate measures to track this national property and get it back so that this money can be used for developmental projects to ameliorate the deprived sections of society," Gadkari said.

He "earnestly" requested the Prime Minister to personally intervene and accept Ramdev's "just and reasonable" demands.

"Mere creation of a wing under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to track and prosecute economic offenders is not going to solve this monumental problem. Nor would issuing appeals to the Yoga Guru to give up his plan defuse the threatening crisis," he said.